Dia de Gracias

I'm grateful for quality time with the people I love.{My Mom and I}

{My nephew and I}

{My babe and I}

Moments

So the other day, as I wrote an e-mail to my best friend who is on her mission far far away in Bolivia, I began to reminisce about the memories I had with her - in high school, in college, during summers - and I began to leaf through pictures that I have that date all the way back to when we were 16 (that is 6 YEARS AGO, AH!) until just before she left on her mission last September - I couldn't believe the difference, but I also couldn't believe the amount of pictures that I have during those years! My friends and family have always commented (and when I say commented, I mean made fun of me) on how many pictures I take - no matter what occasion or circumstance it is - I have always taken a lot of pictures - until, that is, I moved here! I still take a fair amount, ya know, snap one here and there when I actually remember my camera AND its charged - not a small feat, mind you - but it made me realize something deeper about myself - when I was 16, and even when I was 20 in college, I felt like the pictures I took, especially the volume of them, represented the importance of that event, or trip, or instance. I thought that in order to remember how significant that moment was in my life, that I needed 10 -12 images to capture it. Now I realize, not only do I not need 10 pictures, but I don't really need any - that the most important moments in life are actually those that don't usually call for a camera to be whipped out - or when they do, sometimes the most "imperfect" shot depicts the perfect moment - and sometimes, that one picture can remind you of a million memories you had that night, that week, that month. Sometimes it can remind you of all the moments you have shared with that person. Just that one can be powerful. It may sound silly - well I guess it is, actually - but I really believe its true. Images can document our lives, or we can allow people, places, events, and memories to become what defines us. And every so often the two mediums collide and allow us to do both.

For example:

{playing flashlight tag at Shelby Farms after hours :)}

Handy Work

I have a confession: I'm a terrible handy woman.

Now that I have made that disclaimer I feel comfortable sharing the adventure I undertook during my 5 day stay-cay.. and that is HANDYwomanWORK! I have been meaning to complete a couple of projects in the past few months - but being on the road for the majority of 2 1/2 months has put them on hold - so when I got 5 consecutive days off, and a boyfriend overly involved in school activities and therefore in Nashville for 4 out of 5 of those days, I decided to get things done!!

After many hours of measuring, hammering, screwing, leveling and "eyeing it" most of my creations came out less than perfect - with the exception of my shadow boxes - and thats only because they never actually made it to the wall, but are instead subbing in for an end table that I do not currently possess - but that is besides the point.... Here is a catalog of my efforts:

Next up: MY BEDROOM! :)

Alarm Clocks

What "Little Thing" I'm enjoying today do you ask? The absense of my alarm clock. Yes ladies and gentlmen, I know it will come as a surprise, but I, Julie Marie Bennett, inadvertantly turned OFF my alarm instead of ON last night and therefore did not wake up to that hideous beeping noise that jolts me from the wonderous world of dreams and happy slumber - but instead woke up to the beautiful sun shining through my drapeless window and realizing oh so sadly (and unfortunately very quickly) that I had indeed overslept... by a lot. So of course I was late to work... by a lot. So you might be wondering...why am I enjoying this little thing? Because I have felt so much more rested and energized the entire day - and fortunately for my coworkers have had a happier and more easily dealt with attitude (maybe thats due to the cookies I brought it for them, and not me - but a girl can hope) It's amazing what a little much needed beauty sleep can do to a woman - and when its unplanned, its just a little more enjoyable :)